Why Support for Affirm by Venture Capitalists Is the Demise of Your Wallet

The growth spurt in online retail shopping has lead to online start-ups such as Affirm, which allow consumers the opportunity to take out a loan with interest in order to make purchases more readily accessible.

Affirm received $275 million in support from venture capitalists. However, there are many reasons why start-ups like Affirm are the demise of your wallet. This loan start-up allows customers to take out loans that are repayable within three, six, or twelve monthly installments even for purchases that are not considered to be large scale purchases. This increases the likelihood of consumers taking out more loans with interest for smaller purchases.


Another reason why the popularity of loan platforms such as Affirm is not good is because Affirm can charge an interest rate of anywhere between ten and thirty percent based on various factors. There are not many credit cards that would charge a customer a thirty percent interest rate on a purchase unless there are late payments for a purchase or there is some sort of penalty payment. In order to better illustrate an example of how Affirm works, an example of a purchase transaction through Affirm better demonstrates the dangers of loan platforms such as Affirm to consumers and the American economy.

A potential young millennial is considering a luxury vacation and elects to finance this luxury vacation through their Affirm account. The luxury vacation includes a hotel accommodation and airfare through a travel platform. The cost of the luxury vacation is $1,062.52. The interest rate is at 20% APR, and for twelve monthly installment payments of $98.38 through Affirm the person can finance this luxury vacation; thus, the total interest amount paid over a period of one year is $118.51 on this purchase through Affirm. An average credit card interest rate is 15%. If this millennial elects to make a similar purchase through a standard credit card, the interest rate would be lower, and the total amount paid for this purchase would be lower if the customer made all payments on time. It is relevant to point out that more customers that take luxury vacations actually have approximately one thousand dollars to take a luxury vacation paid in full at the time of purchase. However, often customers that seek to take out loans for housing or cars do not have the money to pay for that purchase in full at the time of purchase. Thus, this example clearly demonstrates how easier access to purchasing luxury can damage the potential future opportunity of making a purchase of a necessity if access to purchasing luxury items or obtaining loans for inconsequential items becomes a habitual problem for customers across the nation. Luxury is never a necessity when it is borrowed from the financial future of a customer, and it is never a commodity that should be financed at the cost of the financial future of this nation.

Attorneys that run into ethical violations due to bad credit are often punished by ethical committees, and bad credit history is not a problem that escapes the legal community. Thus, for young legal professionals that are getting ready to apply to sit for a bar exam, it is pertinent to be aware of the fact that bad credit history can affect your character and fitness application investigation. Make wise choices about your how you elect to make your purchases.